Saddam Lives?

Apparently there are those who think Saddam is still alive. I guess, in a world where Harry Potter is appearing naked on stage and Britney Spears has gone bald, anything is possible. In other celebrity silliness, the US Congress passed a toothless and meaningless resolution disapproving of Bush’s “surge” in Iraq. Though the symbolism of the later is important to many people I suppose, and it’s nice to see Congress at least pretending to have a spine. In other news, Iran claims that the explosives used by a terrorist attack in Iran were manufactured in the United States. I suppose it’s possible, but that’s like saying the car a car bomber used was manufactured in the United States. The world is awash in American manufactured explosives, it’s not like they would be hard to get a hold of.

It is interesting though just how much importance people place on being able to say “the other side started it.” There’s hardly a war in history where the participants didn’t claim to be the victims of aggression. Since “he started it” isn’t generally considered a good excuse for a preschool playground fight, it’s a sad commentary on the general maturity of the world’s citizens that they so consistently fall for this line from their leaders. Of course some world citizens fall for “he was going to start it if I didn’t start it first,” which is so stupid that even preschoolers don’t try to use it as an excuse. I won’t mention any names.

OK, I’m in a strange mood today. This is the first day this year where I actually woke up feeling healthy and normal. Or healthy at least, I only pass for normal in a thick fog. We used to get lots of thick fogs here in Berkeley, but they’ve pretty much stopped in the past few years. Evidence for or against global warming depending on one’s views. I liked skulking in the fog, skulking in the sunlight simply doesn’t have the same cachet. Plus it’s too easy for the police to find you when people notice your skulking. Did I mention I was in a strange mood today?

In Baghdad the violence appears to be down slightly. There are a number of possibilities for this:

C: The insurgents are marshaling their forces for their own operation.

Historically in this sort of situation it’s B and/or C, so I wouldn’t book any trips to Baghdad in the near future. Speaking of which, I see Condi is in Baghdad, or at least in the Green Zone, the crusader fortress the USA maintains in the centre of Baghdad. I’m a little unclear on what her job is, so I don’t really have much to say. Cheerleader for Bush? It’s a good bet that she flew from the airport to the Green Zone, and I doubt she will be making any public appearances, which pretty much says it all.

In some positive news, a tentative agreement has been reached with North Korea regarding dismantling their nuclear weapons program. That this resulted from diplomacy, and is remarkably similar to the deal that the Clinton administration reached with North Korea isn’t getting much press in the USA. Or at least the Bush administration doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it. Does this mean North Korea isn’t an issue any more? Of course not, with the codicil that they weren’t much of an issue to begin with. It’s also been suggested that Bush wants this agreement to clear the decks for an attack on Iran. That’s a depressing thought.

It’s interesting how the world’s major powers have managed to successfully convince most of the world’s population that a few, small, virtually powerless countries are focus of all the world’s problems, nu? Such is the power of modern propaganda, if this keeps up within a few decades they will have blamed all the world’s problems on one person. With my luck it will be me. Heck, my ex-wife would already agree.

(The above image is claimed as Fair Use under US copyright law. It is not being sued for profit and is central to illustrating the post.)